Stock Radio CLUSTER F***
-
Hey All,
Still working on getting the stock radio working in my E30. I've gotten power to the unit and it seems to be working, but I have no sound. I have a few wires that are not connected, but 2 speakers should be working.
I'll attach a before and now picture as well as the schematic I am attempting to use. (If there is supposed to be an internal amp in the dash I am F*@#$%).
If anyone has any insight I'd appreciate it.
-
i've had to figure out radio wiring twice on e30s. once, someone jacked my radio and ripped out a bit of the wiring. 2nd was going from an aftermarket back to the stock radio.
couple things:
1)different radios and model years have slightly different wiring. what is your production date/model? what radio are you putting in? were you able to confirm it was the original radio model, or did you find just a random e30 radio?
2)the factory amp is in the trunk on the bulkhead behind the carpeting
2)it looks like your car had the in-dash fader, and someone hacked it when wiring in a new radio. its the plug that looks like this:
the fader looks like the part the guy is holding in this photo:
your going to want to get one if you want to put this back to stock.
3)personally, i would cut all the wires back past the aftermarket splices and see what color wires you are left with to compare with the ETM and your current radio and figure where they need to go. in the end their shouldnt be very many wires to plug into the radio.
4)i lost my build thread for my black e30 when e30tech died.....i'll see if i can dig up photos. that car went from stock radio to aftermarket to a different e30 radio and i was able to sort everything out.
Dan
-
My car is a 1991 325i and the radio could have been in the car. The radio is a CM5908.
I did cut all the wires back and I have 3 extras, but that plug is definitely an issue
Bulkhead on the DS of the trunk? My trunk in pretty rough I wouldn't be surprised if it was gone.
It's hard to tell, but that plug is still there. Where did you get the fader switch?
-
i've had to figure out radio wiring twice on e30s. once, someone jacked my radio and ripped out a bit of the wiring. 2nd was going from an aftermarket back to the stock radio.
couple things:
1)different radios and model years have slightly different wiring. what is your production date/model? what radio are you putting in? were you able to confirm it was the original radio model, or did you find just a random e30 radio?
2)the factory amp is in the trunk on the bulkhead behind the carpeting
2)it looks like your car had the in-dash fader, and someone hacked it when wiring in a new radio. its the plug that looks like this:
the fader looks like the part the guy is holding in this photo:
your going to want to get one if you want to put this back to stock.
3)personally, i would cut all the wires back past the aftermarket splices and see what color wires you are left with to compare with the ETM and your current radio and figure where they need to go. in the end their shouldnt be very many wires to plug into the radio.
4)i lost my build thread for my black e30 when e30tech died.....i'll see if i can dig up photos. that car went from stock radio to aftermarket to a different e30 radio and i was able to sort everything out.
Sorry. Forgot to quote in my previous response.
I've been hunting all over for a picture of what the wiring for that plug is actually supposed to look like.
-
ok so i looked at the 1990 etm, looks like your car wouldnt have had the dash fader. that plug should be the c243 plug that the speaker wires go to, so looks like you have what you need.
i put some notes on the pages for you.
if you have power, youre only worried about the speaker wires. if you get everything hooked up and it still doesnt work, don't forget the speakers could be dead or the radio itself.
Dan
-
I
ok so i looked at the 1990 etm, looks like your car wouldnt have had the dash fader. that plug should be the c243 plug that the speaker wires go to, so looks like you have what you need.
i put some notes on the pages for you.
if you have power, youre only worried about the speaker wires. if you get everything hooked up and it still doesnt work, don't forget the speakers could be dead or the radio itself.
I have figured out where most everything goes. Except 4 of the speaker wires do not come from the (8)plug. There are 2 loops in it and the other wires are coming from elsewhere. Also, I have a plug or cooresponding wires that don't appear to be on the schematic. I'll include a picture. I also have a mystery white wire with no other markings coming from the dash.
I know for a fact that 2 of the speakers worked with the previous head unit.
Let me know your thoughts.
-
do you have the speaker wires from the back of the radio matched to the 8-pin plug per the etm diagram?
there are supposed to be two looped wires on that connector, per the diagram. A yellow/red loops from pin 3 to 4 and a blue/red wire loops from pins 6 to 7. That connector should also have 4 wires vanishing off into the dash headed to the amp. yellow/black, yellow/red, blue/black, blue/red
did you look for your amp yet?
you could run a temp. wire from the head unit outputs directly to each speaker to test the outputs of the radio/speakers.
what color are the two wires from that 2-pin connector? your phone pics are sized for ants. maybe its powering up a 6-CD changer, i believe this radio was capable of connecting to one.
is that white wire the power wire for the antenna, or is that accounted for already?
Dan
-
do you have the speaker wires from the back of the radio matched to the 8-pin plug per the etm diagram?
there are supposed to be two looped wires on that connector, per the diagram. A yellow/red loops from pin 3 to 4 and a blue/red wire loops from pins 6 to 7. That connector should also have 4 wires vanishing off into the dash headed to the amp. yellow/black, yellow/red, blue/black, blue/red
did you look for your amp yet?
you could run a temp. wire from the head unit outputs directly to each speaker to test the outputs of the radio/speakers.
what color are the two wires from that 2-pin connector? your phone pics are sized for ants. maybe its powering up a 6-CD changer, i believe this radio was capable of connecting to one.
is that white wire the power wire for the antenna, or is that accounted for already?
I am not seeing on the diagram where you determine that there are loops, but they are there in the plug.
The amp is gone.
The 2 wires are White and Brown and Blue and Grey. They originate from the same plug ( +12V) as the Violet and Brown that go to the power distributor box (on the left side of the diagram).
My backlight is not powered. I wonder if the 2 pin is for that?
I don't have a corresponding solid white wire coming from the rear of the radio.
-
I am not seeing on the diagram where you determine that there are loops, but they are there in the plug.
The amp is gone.
The 2 wires are White and Brown and Blue and Grey. They originate from the same plug ( +12V) as the Violet and Brown that go to the power distributor box (on the left side of the diagram).
My backlight is not powered. I wonder if the 2 pin is for that?
I don't have a corresponding solid white wire coming from the rear of the radio.
i've attached a photo showing the wires on the back of the CM5908 referenced below.
its seems like general internet consensus is that mystery two prong plug is not needed. see '??' in attached photo.
backlight wire should be the white wire in the 2-pin plug that has yellow and white wires. see 'IL' in attached photo.
the white wire for the antenna power: there should be a prong near the top right corner (f you are looking at the back of the radio)where this would plug into. see 'PA' in attached photo.
is the amp gone, like the wires are hanging around and its been removed, or it was never there?
see my attached diagram for explanation of the wire loops. it shows a wire being connected to two pins of the the same connector.
the etm diagrams are certainly another language until you have used them a few times to figure out wiring.
Dan
-
i've attached a photo showing the wires on the back of the CM5908 referenced below.
its seems like general internet consensus is that mystery two prong plug is not needed. see '??' in attached photo.
backlight wire should be the white wire in the 2-pin plug that has yellow and white wires. see 'IL' in attached photo.
the white wire for the antenna power: there should be a prong near the top right corner (f you are looking at the back of the radio)where this would plug into. see 'PA' in attached photo.
is the amp gone, like the wires are hanging around and its been removed, or it was never there?
see my attached diagram for explanation of the wire loops. it shows a wire being connected to two pins of the the same connector.
the etm diagrams are certainly another language until you have used them a few times to figure out wiring.
Thanks for the clarification on the diagram. This is my first run at fixing a stock radio using existing equipment.
Got the antenna power attached, but the radio is now asking for the code and looks like I'm stuck in the hour waiting period.
I was using that picture as a reference as well. So IL is going to be my backlight power? Damn I hope that isn't shot.
As far as the amp goes there are wires hanging and it looks like the mounting brackets are there. Part of me wants to just rewire the whole damn system.
-
i've attached a photo showing the wires on the back of the CM5908 referenced below.
its seems like general internet consensus is that mystery two prong plug is not needed. see '??' in attached photo.
backlight wire should be the white wire in the 2-pin plug that has yellow and white wires. see 'IL' in attached photo.
the white wire for the antenna power: there should be a prong near the top right corner (f you are looking at the back of the radio)where this would plug into. see 'PA' in attached photo.
is the amp gone, like the wires are hanging around and its been removed, or it was never there?
see my attached diagram for explanation of the wire loops. it shows a wire being connected to two pins of the the same connector.
the etm diagrams are certainly another language until you have used them a few times to figure out wiring.
Ran the car tonight for an hour and entered the code. Even with the antenna power and the (hopefully) functioning tape deck I'm not getting any sound.
I found a thread about replacing the lights within the deck, but want to get some sound before I go through all of that.
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/145593
Looks like I need to figure out the amp situation and move forward from there.
-
I just picked up the amp. Hope to give that a shot tonight and see if I can get things working.
Took the car for a spin last night my dash lights are no longer working. Unbelievable. From what I've read they are part of the same wiring cluster as the radio
i've attached a photo showing the wires on the back of the CM5908 referenced below.
its seems like general internet consensus is that mystery two prong plug is not needed. see '??' in attached photo.
backlight wire should be the white wire in the 2-pin plug that has yellow and white wires. see 'IL' in attached photo.
the white wire for the antenna power: there should be a prong near the top right corner (f you are looking at the back of the radio)where this would plug into. see 'PA' in attached photo.
is the amp gone, like the wires are hanging around and its been removed, or it was never there?
see my attached diagram for explanation of the wire loops. it shows a wire being connected to two pins of the the same connector.
the etm diagrams are certainly another language until you have used them a few times to figure out wiring.
AAAAAAAAAAAND it isn't the fuse. Any ideas?
-
-
Speedo, Tach, Fuel, Temp & Climate Control
All of the warning lights are still functioning.
I plan on checking the ground (it was a mess) tonight. Also, none of the wiring that would have been going back to the stock amp is back there, so it looks like I'll be sending wires out for that.
-
Speedo, Tach, Fuel, Temp & Climate Control
All of the warning lights are still functioning.
I plan on checking the ground (it was a mess) tonight. Also, none of the wiring that would have been going back to the stock amp is back there, so it looks like I'll be sending wires out for that.
if all of the dash lights are dead that would normally come on when you pull the light switch to position 1, the light switch could have shit the bed or the connection came loose. any of the wire you were dealing with at the radio shouldnt have affected this, the only thing i can think of is if you were tugging you could have pulled something loose.
the amp wiring is gone? i've never heard of anyone actually pulling the wiring when putting in a new system, that would be a waste of time and rather tedious to remove from the harness. your car most likely never had an amp. do you have tweeters in the doors at the mirrors?
Dan
-
if all of the dash lights are dead that would normally come on when you pull the light switch to position 1, the light switch could have shit the bed or the connection came loose. any of the wire you were dealing with at the radio shouldnt have affected this, the only thing i can think of is if you were tugging you could have pulled something loose.
the amp wiring is gone? i've never heard of anyone actually pulling the wiring when putting in a new system, that would be a waste of time and rather tedious to remove from the harness. your car most likely never had an amp. do you have tweeters in the doors at the mirrors?
I was trying not to pull on them too hard, but there wasn't much to work with. Are you thinking it got pulled from the back of the headlight switch?
I have one odd plug, but nothing that looks like the plugs I have found when I search for the amp. There are a few loose wires back there, but nothing that matches the schematic.
Yes, I do have the tweeters.
-
only one way to find out!
and just to be perfectly clear - there is no amp and location #3, hidden behind the carpet panel? and no wiring that has been cut running up inside the car under the seat/side panel between the rear speaker and location #3? there should be a big bundle (10ish wires) that would have gone to the amp.
and to go back a little, did you say at some point when you owned this car the speakers worked? what was changed/who changed it since that point?
Dan
-
only one way to find out!
and just to be perfectly clear - there is no amp and location #3, hidden behind the carpet panel? and no wiring that has been cut running up inside the car under the seat/side panel between the rear speaker and location #3? there should be a big bundle (10ish wires) that would have gone to the amp.
and to go back a little, did you say at some point when you owned this car the speakers worked? what was changed/who changed it since that point?
I’m an idiot. I was looking under the carpet on the DS side towards the tail lights in the quarter panel. It’s there.
Yes, the rear speakers were working for sure with the old radio.
-
ok, well if all the components are there, and you think you have it wired correctly, and its still not working....its time to start checking individual components to make sure they are not dead.
get the radio fired up and check the outputs to make sure voltage is coming from them. someone correct me if i'm wrong, but it may be an AC current, lower voltage than 12v at each output.
if its outputting sound, what i would do is make a temporary jumper cable, pull the interior panels and connect the radio directly to each speaker to see that they are all working.
Dan
-
I borrowed a speaker to attempt to see if I could get some sound out of the radio w/out having to remove any panels. Now, when I turn on the radio I can hear a click from all of the speakers. No luck getting any sound to the speaker. Also, no luck with the lights in the dash.
The voltage coming out was .023 at the most.
I'm thinking I ended up with a trash radio and killed my dash lights in the process of trying to do the install.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login